Sad

As most of you are probably aware by now, it was reported over the weekend that Pat Tilley, who gave up a lucrative career in the NFL to serve his country in the Army, died in combat in Afghanistan. This weekend also saw Eli Manning, son of legendary NFL quarterback Archie and brother to probable NFL legend Peyton, throw a subdued tantrum about being drafted by the San Diego Chargers. Fortunately, San Diego traded Eli to New York, where hopefully he will take the opportunity to go by the area where the World Trade Center buildings once stood and reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made for him by brave souls like the late Pat Tilley.

Errata: Pat's last name was Tillman. I must have been thinking about Meg Tilley or something.

When Did the Vatican Become Communist China?

According to the lame stream media, Rome "cracks down" on liturgical abuse.

One of the main points of the Vatican document commissioned by Pope John Paul II warned against lay people delivering sermons or preaching the Gospel.

The document uses terse language to discourage the misconduct, saying some practices were "not infrequently" plaguing Masses and that in some places "the perpetration of liturgical abuses has become almost habitual, a fact which obviously cannot be allowed and must cease."

It also said anyone conscious of being in grave sin shouldn’t receive Communion without going to confession -- a regulation that prompted questions about whether priests should deny politicians, such as Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Communion because of their support for abortion rights.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, whose Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued the document, said the majority of priests celebrate Mass correctly and stressed the directive was not intended to be "repressive" but merely to remind Catholics of church teaching.

The directive restated church teaching on all aspects of the liturgy, from the type of vestments a priest should wear, to the timing of his prayers and the types of bread and wine used at Communion.

Teachers' Union Co-Sponsors Pro-Abortion March

If you're a faithful Catholic and a public school teacher, opt-out of the union now and ask to have any mandatory agency fees you are required to pay the union (i.e., Moloch) be diverted to an unobjectionable charity.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions on how to do this.

GOP Vets Rip Kerry in Congress

And the best that the Dems could do to counter was to have uber-liberal Baghdad Jim McDermott question Dubya's honorable service in the National Guard.

Big Fat Hypocrite

Self proclaimed champion of the working class and Hollywood limousine liberal Michael Moore outsources his website design and servers to a foreign country.

Calling All Muslims!

A Michigan city approves a local mosque's request to air prayer calls to Muslims over public loudspeakers -- 5 times a day!

Somehow I get the feeling that the same courtesy would not be extended to a local parish wishing to expressly exhort Catholics to pray the Rosary.

Race Whoring

It's still a thriving area of practice in the legal/political profession.

The usual suspects -- plus one holier-than-thou world power -- are calling on the U.S. military to repent for its treatment of Muslim chaplain James Yee (a.k.a. "Yousef" or "Yousif" Yee).

Refresher: Yee's the Army captain who ministered to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Seven months ago, Yee was arrested on suspicion of espionage. He spent 76 days in solitary confinement; the case didn't materialize; he was convicted on lesser charges of adultery and downloading pornography. Last week, the Army Southern Command chief who oversees military operations at Guantanamo dismissed those convictions.

What more do Yee and his sympathy circle want? They want the government to grovel and beg forgiveness for being too aggressive in defending against potential terrorist sympathizers and abettors. In a letter to President Bush, Yee's lawyer complained of guards who "refused to provide him with a liturgical calendar or prayer rug and refused to tell him the time of day or the direction of Mecca." Comparing it to the victimization of gay soldiers, commentator Andrew Sullivan condemned the military's enforcement of the Uniform Code of Military Justice against Yee as "disgraceful, foul and malicious." And now, along with Arab-American and Asian-American activists trying to turn Yee into an international human rights poster boy, comes the Communist government of China.

According to the Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Sha Zukang, blasted the U.S. for "racial discrimination" and cited "the recent case against Chinese American Yousef Yee" as an example of America's "domestic human rights situation." The absurdity of turning this into a racial issue is topped only by the sanctimony of Ambassador Sha, representative of the Falun Gong-torturing, political dissent-steamrolling, one-child-policy pioneers in Beijing, who fulminated that "the United States should look at itself in a mirror." Captain Yee's stateside defenders, such as Cecilia Chang of the San Francisco Bay Area-based grievance group Justice for New Americans, likewise pretend he was viciously singled out for being the child of "immigrant minorities." Chang complained, "Many people who don't look very 'American' are being targeted."

The Slippary Slope

Distort the definition of marriage by officially recognizing homogamous unions, then you better be able to come up with a good reason for why polygamous, or even incestuous, unions should continued to be universally outlawed.

Pretext for Homo-Indoctrination

"G@y" rights activists exploit a tran$exual murder victim in order to justify forcing public school children to accept their disordered lifestyle. That's right. If you believe tran$exual or homo$exual conduct is perverse or immoral, you are a potential murderer.

Give Me a Break

Big wig lawyers unite to oppose any splitting of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The "bipartisan" group cites potential injustices as a reason for their opposition.

Yeah, Heaven forbid that we should ever have a Federal Circuit Court of Appeal that doesn't consistently get overturned by the SCOTUS, or has a backlog of unresolved cases that arises from a willingness to entertain and affirm the delusions of left-wing anti-Christians like the ACLU and Michael Newdow.

Happy Your Taxes Are Due by Midnight Tonight Day!

Unless, of course, you're filing for an extension. Take heart. There's only about another month or two to go until the money you earn is actually yours and not the governments.

Religious Liberty Case to Keep and Eye On

The SCOTUS will be reviewing an employment case that focuses on the question of whether state law enforcement agencies are exempt from having to comply with the religious accommodation provisions of Title VII (a.k.a. the Federal Civil Rights Act).

The Indiana State Police in South Bend assigned Benjamin Endres Jr. as a full-time gaming commission agent at the Blue Chips Casino in Michigan City, Ind. His job description listed gambling-related responsibilities, such as verifying gambling profits, investigating public complaints about the gaming system and performing license investigations for the casinos and their employees.

Endres claimed these duties would force him to violate his Baptist beliefs, which bar him from participating in or facilitating gambling. Endres asked his employer to reassign him. His request was denied, and when Endres failed to report to work he was fired.

After Endres filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, the police agency sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that Indiana officials were protected from the Title VII claim by the state's sovereign immunity. But in December 2001, U.S. District Judge Robert Miller Jr. ruled against the state, saying that Endres could go ahead with his Title VII claim.

On appeal, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saw the case differently. In an opinion last year by Judge Frank Easterbrook, the 7th Circuit reversed Miller, ruling that Endres had not made a valid Title VII claim. Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer joined in the opinion, which did not touch on the state immunity question.

Easterbrook said the law could not be interpreted to allow police or firefighters to pick and choose which laws to enforce or which fires to extinguish. Noting religious preferences such as Catholics' opposition to abortions and Jewish and Muslim bans on eating pork, Easterbrook asked rhetorically whether the law requires the state police "to assign Unitarians to guard the abortion clinic, Catholics to prevent thefts from liquor stores, and Baptists to investigate claims that supermarkets misweigh bacon and shellfish?"

Easterbrook continued: "Juggling assignments to make each compatible with the varying religious beliefs of a heterogeneous police force would be daunting to managers and difficult for other officers who would be called on to fill in for the objectors."

OK, I've never read the full decision by the 7th Circuit, but the quoted comments by Easterbrook are incredibly asinine if only because he ignores that part of Title VII which states that employers do not have to accommodate the religious beliefs of an employee if doing so would impose an "undue hardship" on them (the employers). Certainly, not having enough people to put out a fire would give rise to an undue hardship, but for Easterbrook to effectively compare firefighting to something like verifying the gambling profits of a casino is out there, and seems to be reflective of a personal hostility to people of religious faith.

Update: The SCOTUS has declined to review the case. Speculation is that the Court has "religion fatigue."

Catholic Politician Scorecard

Brought to you by the Democrat Party, and coming soon to a political campaign near you. Look for the scorecards to show that pro-abortion and pro-homogamy Catholic Democrats are legislatively "more faithful" to the Church than pro-life and pro-family Catholic Republicans. In the meantime, the USCCB continues to collectively show it's lack of backbone in dealing with blatantly disobedient Catholic politicians.

A preliminary copy of the scorecard obtained by The Hill, which a Lampson aide emphasized is still unfinished, shows that the 67 Catholic House Democrats received an average score of 76 percent, while the 49 Catholic Republican members averaged 64 percent.

Republican Catholic members were quick to criticize the scorecard.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said both the bishops and the Democrats are confusing means with motives. “Many of the issues they’re talking about really have nothing to do with actual Catholic teaching or religion,” he said. “It is interpretation of economic policy.”

(...)

Meanwhile, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, told “Fox News Sunday” that he is reluctant to deprive a Catholic politician who deviates from Catholic teaching of Communion and would only do so as a last resort.

Monahan said a task force in the conference has been assembled to develop a policy for dealing with Catholic politicians whose positions do not reflect Catholic teaching.

But in a report published in March, the conference stated that Catholics should not become single-issue voters: “The Christian faith is an integral unity, and thus it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine.”

The task force “is looking at everything,” said Monahan, adding, “It’s not formed around Senator Kerry or members of Congress. It’s dealing with Catholic politicians at all levels. Everything is on the table. They haven’t got too far down the line in their work yet. You’re dealing with a lot of bishops and a lot of points of view.”

Liberal and Deadbeats?

The new liberal talk radio network featuring "Stuart Smalley" has been suddenly yanked off the air in L.A. and Chicago. The shutdown is being attributed to a bounced check that the network apparently issued to the radio station owner. (news link via Drudge)

(Snicker...)

Forget Nader

Vader 2004!

Had enough of traditional politicians? Even the best of them can be intimidated by the likes of Tom Daschle. The kind of tough, uncompromising leadership that the Free World requires likely only exists in the land of fictional characters.

Enter Lord Vader. It is impossible to imagine Lord Vader bending over backwards to a pipsqueak like Daschle. Rather if Daschle got out of line at a meeting, Lord Vader would simply use the Force to constrict his windpipe and achieve what had hitherto been considered impossible: he'd shut him up.

For Once, It's Not A Jesuit School

Not that it makes it any better, of course. From LifeSite:

Catholic Seton Hall University to Award Pro-Abortion Judge

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ, April 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Friday, April 16, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a notoriously pro-abortion judge who voted to strike down the partial-birth abortion laws of more than 30 states, is presenting the annual "Sandra Day O'Connor Medal of Honor" to Judge Maryanne Trump Barry (Sister of Donald Trump) of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Trump Barry is the pro-abortion author of the opinion striking down the New Jersey partial-birth abortion statute.

Seton Hall is a Catholic arm of the Archdiocese of Newark. The Seton Hall website states that it is "the oldest diocesan university in the United States" and testifies that "Seton Hall is Catholic not only by its charter and mission, but also by its ongoing spirit and activity."

Despite this lip service to its Catholic tradition, Seton Hall Law School -- which has a faculty riddled with pro-abortion professors and has no record of honoring any pro-life heroes -- is once again creating a major scandal by honoring prominent pro-abortion figures.

Critics are encouraging concerned citizens to contact the Archbishop of Newark, the President of the University and the Dean of the Law School to protest the awards and to demand that the award ceremony be canceled and that the Law School's sponsorship of this annual award be terminated.

Contact information
Archbishop John Myers
973-497-4190
goodneja@rcan.org

Msgr. Robert Sheeran
973-761-9620
sheeraro@shu.edu

Dean Patrick Hobbs
973-642-8750
hobbspat@shu.edu

http://law.shu.edu/
http://law.shu.edu/administration/office.html
http://www.spc.edu/
http://www.spc.edu/about/contact.shtml

Cynical Old Fart

Did somebody forget to take his pills?

Andy Rooney: U.S. soldiers in Iraq aren't heroes. (link via Drudge)

Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.

Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them.

We pin medals on their chests to keep them going. We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours, but there isn't much voluntary about what most of them have done. A relatively small number are professional soldiers. During the last few years, when millions of jobs disappeared, many young people, desperate for some income, enlisted in the Army. About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.

One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure. If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die.

Renewed Debate Over the Shroud of Turin

Recent findings appear to undermine 15 year old proclamations that the Shroud is fake.

Raymond Rogers is a retired physical chemist and former leader of the explosives research and development group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He proposes that the samples used to date the shroud in 1988 were flawed and the experiment should be repeated. His conclusion is based on a recent chemical analysis of the shroud and previous observations made during a 1978 examination.

Rogers was one of two dozen American scientists who participated in the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP)—an intense five-day scientific investigation of the shroud in Turin, Italy.

(...)

The 1988 carbon dating results satisfied many skeptics that the Shroud of Turin was a clever hoax, and the findings stymied further research.

But some scientists have persisted. In 1999 Avinoam Danin, a botanist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, stated at the 16th International Botanical Congress that he found pollen grains on the shroud from plants that could only be found in and around Jerusalem, placing its origins in the Middle East.

Further comparison of the shroud with another ancient cloth, the Sudarium of Oviedo (thought to be the burial face cloth of Jesus), revealed it was embedded with pollen grains from the same species of plant as found on the Shroud of Turin.

The Sudarium even carries the same AB blood type, with bloodstains in a similar pattern. Since the Sudarium has been stored in a cathedral in Spain since the eighth century, the evidence suggests that the Shroud of Turin is at least as old.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

In the case of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, it's almost been impossible. However, efforts to break up the most left-leaning and reversed federal appeals court in the country have started up again, and it looks as though it may end up going somewhere.

CNN = Credibility Not Necessary

It's not been a good two weeks for the all "news" network. First, CNN attributed a comment to the White House that it never made about a David Letterman bit, and this past Sunday it wrongly reported that the state of Missouri was considering a bill that would fire any public school teacher who refused to teach alternatives to evolution.

And Yet, Voluntary Abortion is Still Legal

The California State Supreme Court declares that murdering a pregnant woman counts as two homicides even if the accused didn't know the victim was pregnant. Just goes to further prove that recognition of the unborn as legally protected persons ultimately comes down to a matter of will.

New Catholic University in San Diego!

Oddly enough, it's called New Catholic University.

It's Not Like They Were Encouraged to Watch American Pie

A Catholic middle school teacher up near Sacto is terminated for telling students they can earn extra credit by watching the R-rated TPOTC with their parents.

Officially, the school would not comment on why Hathorn was fired from the North Highlands school, saying his termination was a personnel matter. However, Principal Marilyn Fleming said assigning students to watch R-rated movies at the kindergarten through eighth-grade school was against school policy.

Hathorn, 50, who has taught at the school for five years, said the movie "is 100 percent true to the Gospel" and he has seen it with his son, a seventh-grader.

"For some children it is too much," he said. "But for others, in this age with all the violence we see, the violence is not too much."

Check With Us First Before Doing Your Little Religious Thingy

Enviro-wackos proclaim Palm Sunday services to be environmentally risky. I wonder if anyone has ever told these yayhoos that their own breathing adversely impacts the environment.

Chantal Line Carpentier of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation recommends "environmental certification," or "eco-labeling," which tells buyers the palms were harvested in a way that environmentalists accept.

Both the CEC and Rainforest Alliance described themselves as "pioneers in forest certification," and they said they are now working on a pilot project to "link [approved] chamaedorea suppliers in Mexico and Guatemala with Canadian and US churches."

High School "Honor" Student Threatens President

Why did he do it? In order to "get back" at a fellow student he had a dispute with. Just goes to show you that good grades do not equate with intelligence. Dan Quayle is yet again vindicated.

Catholic Rad Trads

Or as some Catholic bloggers refer to them, the Lidless Eye crowd. I've recently had my first, and hopefully last, direct encounter with some on a Catholic singles website I recently joined. (Why the heck not?) Except for the fact that they reject sola scriptura and call themselves Catholic, I'm readily convinced that they are intellectually indistingiushable from most Protestant Fundamentalists. First of all, Rad Trads absolutely reject almost any semblance of logic or reasoning. To give you an example, someone on the aforementioned website had posted a favorable review of Rad Trad leaning Michael Davies' book "Liturgical Timebombs in Vatican II," published by TAN Books and Publishing (whose founder I have since discovered is a member of a schismatic traditionalist group called the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem). I responded to this favorable review by noting that because Davies has been known to consort with and share the views of known Rad Trad groups and publications like The Remnant, anyone who reads this book should exercise extreme caution. Right off the bat, one Rad Trad replies to my post by essentially accusing me of wanting to engage in censorship and book burning. When I asked where did I ever say that no one should read Davies' book, the Rad Trad said I didn't, but that such a conclusion was nevertheless a logical outcome of my insidious warning. After writing a couple of posts where I tried to explain that the conclusion of book burning only makes some inkling of sense if I had actually told people not to read Davies, the Rad Trad comes back and says that, contrary to what he first wrote, he now believes that I did in fact originally try to tell people not to read the book. Cuckooo!

Needless to say, after telling the Rad Trad and some of his sympathizers that I thought they were being illogical, I just let the whole dialogue go as it was evident I wasn't going to change their "minds," and my purpose of simply warning the unsuspecting had been accomplished.

Oh, and another thing that Rad Trads have in common with most Fundies is their heavy reliance on private interpretation. Whereas most Fundies do it with the Bible, Rad Trads will employ private interpretation with Tradition. A weird lot these Lidless Eye folks.

Proposed Curb to Federal Court Jurisdiction

If signed into law, two bills in Congress would prohibit the Federal courts from making rulings on "acknowledgment of God" cases. (One of the bills also prohibits Federal courts from relying on foreign law and rulings when interpreting the Costitution). So, for example, if Michael Newdow wanted to make another kind of Pledge of Allegiance type challenge, he wouldn't, as the saying goes, be able to take his case to the Supreme Court, and would have to try and seek a remedy in the courts of each individual state. Viva la Tenth Amendment (and Article III Section 2)!

Religious Law Schools and Their Commitment to Religion

Should religious law schools be religious? Some interesting insights by St. John's Law School prof. Rob Vischer over at Mirror of Justice.

To the extent law schools can help students elevate internal over external motivations, I have no doubt that students would be better off. But I wonder how realistic it is to expect law schools to do so. After all, in an environment where institutional decisions seem driven in significant part by US News rankings, law schools themselves are motivated primarily by extrinsic considerations, most notably reputation. Law schools don't seem concerned as much with helping students "find themselves" as in enabling students to plug into the best (i.e., most prestigious) job possible, whether private practice, government, or public interest. I have no doubt that a student at the top of the class who turns down a federal clerkship or big firm job is perceived as a disappointment to the school, regardless of the compatibility of such career paths with the student's own priorities. A school's reputation is not enhanced by students who take the road less travelled.

The tradeoff of building reputation at the cost of religious identity seems to be empirically supportable. I myself graduated from a law school (Trinity Law School) that is expressly committed to integrating its Christian perspective with the teaching of law. Because of this commitment, the school's reputation in the secular legal community is almost nonexistent. Indeed, if it does have a reputation, it probably isn't very positive to the extent that the school is seen as more of a theological center than a serious law school. Without a reputation, of course, graduates of my law school (including yours truly) have generally been hard pressed to find jobs, thus perpetuating the school's obscurity.

Personally, I'm glad there are some (though very few) religious law schools out there that are committed to helping students elevate their internal motivations (i.e., faith) in addition to trying to expand its external institutional interests. Unfortunately, though, the reality of the legal environment simply won't allow such a formula to work, and so religious schools must sadly choose between maintaining their religious identity or discarding it so as not to be cast into perpetual obscurity.

Pay Attention NFL Football Fans

JPII says subordinating God to sports and beer commericals on Sundays is not good. So stop worrying about getting home on time to watch a game when you're at Mass! Yeah, you know who you are.

"When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend' dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they can no longer see the heavens," the pope said in a speech today to Australian bishops, according to Reuters.

The 83-year-old pontiff recognizes sports as having an important role in life, however.

In his younger days, he was known as an excellent athlete, and in an October 2000 speech at Rome's Olympic Stadium he gave "thanks to God for the gift of sport, in which the human person exercises his body, intellect and will, recognizing these abilities as so many gifts of his Creator."

I'm Gonna Try to Make This

The Archdiocese of San Francisco will be sponsoring a prayer rally in support of traditional marriage and families on April 3. Hopefully, no trouble will brew, but I may bring along my nun-chuks, for self-defense purposes of course, just in case.

The event begins at 8 P.M. April 2 at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, with all-night Eucharistic Adoration. San Francisco Archbishop William Levada will celebrate 9 A.M. Mass on April 3, followed by a 10 A.M. prayer rally. A procession through the neighborhood of North Beach concludes the event.

“Archbishop Levada set a great example by standing up and publicly witnessing the truth on marriage,” said XXXX, a volunteer from St. Dominic’s Parish. “It is part of our baptismal promise to stand with him.”

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s unilateral decision February 12 to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in violation of state and federal law sparked the rally. The California Supreme Court halted the practice March 11, pending its ruling. Newsom’s action came on the heels of the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that the same-gender couples are entitled to marry.

Newbie Lawyer Stuff

As a relatively new lawyer, licensed for two years and out of law school for two and a half, I had my first experience yesterday with The Barristers, a group of "young" attorneys that just about every county bar association in the State of California has. Now even though I'm located in San Francisco County (which basically only comprises of the City of San Francisco), I've chosen to be a member of the San Mateo County Bar Association simply because it doesn't seem to be as hellbent as the San Francisco Bar on promoting disordered lifestyles and attacking the Boy Scouts.

Anyway, The Barristers "Meet & Greet" I went to included a tour of the County Court House and meeting a few of the staff and judges. As far as state courthouses go, San Mateo County Superior seemed pretty nice, although I did find it interesting that the most aesthetically pleasing floor in the building happened to be where the District Attorney's office was located. And in case you're wondering, no I didn't see Scott Peterson.

All in all, The San Mateo County Barristers seem like a pretty cool bunch. Somewhat noteworthy about the meeting I went to, however, is that there seemed to be an inordinate number of women in attendance. In fact, except for the president, all of the officers of this local group are women. The possibilities for personal social prosperity are looking pret-tee good. Now if I can just tell how many of these ladies are single and Catholic...

It's Bigotry if Directed at Jews, But "Educational" if Directed at Catholics

SF Archdiocese lodges protest against planned anti-Catholic Brownshirt homo event on Easter Sunday; Brownshirt homos say Catholics aren't Jews.

Losers. All of Them.

Baby-boomers (and wannabes) who have nothing better to do with their time on a beautiful sunny day than act like obnoxious morons.

A guy in a gorilla suit, a bevy of Raging Grannies and a massive papier-mache Gandhi joined tens of thousands of protesters in San Francisco on Saturday for a two-mile march and anti-war rally to mark the first anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Either 25,000 or 50,000 people attended the event -- based on early estimates from police and organizers, respectively.

With temperatures hovering in the high 70s and a cloudless sky overhead, a mellow mood seemed to permeate the crowd, with countless marchers basking in the sun on their backs, their eyes closed as an amplified call of "Long live Cuba" filled the air.

An Odd Name for a Church

St. Mary's Baptist Church. Guess they try to offer the best of both worlds.

McNewspaper Accuses Former Employee of Making Things Up

Hard to imagine that a five time Pulitzer Prize nominee would do such a thing, but who knows.

USA Today said Friday that an examination of the work of journalist Jack Kelley found strong evidence that the newspaper's former star foreign correspondent had fabricated substantial portions of at least eight major stories.

"As an institution, we failed our readers by not recognizing Jack Kelley's problems. For that I apologize," publisher Craig Moon said.

After spending seven weeks closely examining Kelley's work, a team of journalists also found that Kelley had lifted quotes or other material from competing publications, lied in speeches he delivered for USA Today and conspired to mislead the investigation into his work.

Speaking of Recusal Requests

Because of her affiliation with NOW, Justice Ruth "Buzzie" Ginsberg is formally asked by thirteen GOP members of Congress to recuse herself from any future cases dealing with abortion. (news link via Amy Welborn)

Scalia to Sierra Club: Up Yours!

From Peter Robinson at The Corner:

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has denied the Sierra Club's ridiculous motion that he recuse himself in the Club's case against Vice President Cheney. To wit:

"The question, simply put, is whether someone who thought I could decide this case impartially despite my friendship with the Vice President would reasonably believe that I cannot decide it impartially because I went hunting with that friend and accepted an invitation to fly there with him on a Government plane. If it is reasonable to think that a Supreme Court Justice can be bought so cheap, the Nation is in deeper trouble than I had imagined."

Speaking of Beating Up on the Boy Scouts

The Federal government has been prohibited from submitting a "friend of the Court" brief in support of the Boy Scouts in a case involving the Boy Scouts' loss of a park lease in the City of San Diego.

Going Against the Currnet or Political Correctness Forerunner?

I attended my first San Francisco Catholic Professional and Business Club breakfast meeting today, and the featured speaker was a Franciscan brother who had previously spent over 30 years as a succesful Bay Area executive with Bank of America. His talk mostly centered on the joy he has experienced in doing community service and volunteer work (e.g., assisting Bay Area AIDS patients and manning suicide hotlines), and how that joy eventually led him into joining a religious order within the Church.

In general, the talk was ok. It would have been a lot better for me, though, if this former executive hadn't felt the need to briefly disclose how proud he had been of Bank of America when it decided several years ago to stop giving charitable contributions to the Boy Scouts over its policy of discriminating against inidviduals who openly practice homosexuality. "Going against the current" was how he described B of A's decision. I tell you, I almost lost it. Given the number of beatings that the Boy Scouts incur today in both the media and courts over their upholding of traditional moral values, I felt like standing up and rhetorically asking Mr. Franciscan brother, who by the way is also a divorcee, if he was sure he didn't mean B of A was a forerunner of secular political correctness. But since doing so would have been rude, and calling him out on his apparent okayness with homosexual behavior during the Q&A session probably would have resulted in me getting into arguments with every other person in the room (this IS San Francisco) I refrained.

Hopefully, next month's speaker won't say anything that's, well, stupid. Otherwise, my membership in this club is going to be one excruciating experience.

Academics Making Things Up. This is a Surprise?

A professor at Claremont McKenna College is seen vandalizing her own car before falsely reporting the damage as a hate crime.

The incident prompted all five of the Claremont Colleges to cancel classes March 10 for teach-ins and rallies against hate crimes. More than 1,000 people attended an evening rally at Claremont McKenna, where students pushed for racial and ethnic tolerance and Dunn was one of the speakers.

"Very admirably, the college community came together," Claremont McKenna President Pamela Gann said. "But to have within the community someone who is part of the investigation and questioned is repulsive to the values of the community."

Along with the vandalism, Dunn reported $1,700 in property missing from her car. The epithets on Dunn's car included derogatory remarks about blacks and Jews.

Police said Wednesday that Dunn could be charged with filing a false police report but said it was unlikely that she would be charged herself with a hate crime.

Chronicle Reporters Biased? Naaaa, Really?!

Two lesbian SF Chronicle journalists who "married" each other are taken off the same-sex "marriage" story at City Hall in order to avoid a "potential" conflict of interest. And if you actually believe the Chronicle is objective in its news commentary reporting, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.

Cold Feet

South Dakota's proposed banning of nearly all abortions fails by 1 vote.

The defeat of the bill, after the governor's recommended changes had passed the House 52-16, left several abortion opponents in the Senate gallery shaking their heads and an advocate of abortion rights smiling as the 17-18 vote tally was read.

A count of 18 was necessary to agree with the style-and-form veto.

"This just hurts; it's terrible," said Leslee Unruh, founder of the Alpha Center in Sioux Falls and an abortion opponent. "Women from across the country have called for this bill to be passed."

Newsflash: Kerry Hates Children

Although, his opposition to the Unborn Victims Act is consistent with his position that women should have the right to kill their children in the womb. BTW, anyone know if Kerry is "personally" against abortion?

Too Bad He Isn't a Catholic Priest

Another SoCal faith community files a lawsuit against a city for allgedly violating its rights under RLUIPA.

When his congregation withered to only 12 and the collection plate returned nearly empty, Pastor Andrew Derek Anunciation figured it was time for action.

For more than two years, his tiny congregation at Praise Christian Center has held services outdoors in a Huntington Beach industrial lot amid an ongoing dispute with City Hall.

Anunciation believes the city has been standing squarely in the way of moving the church into a converted warehouse by requiring numerous — and expensive — permits and upgrades.

"People have called me a radical and other names. But we feel like what we've been going through is a storm," Anunciation said.

"And we're not doing this just for our tiny church, but for other religious groups too."

The church filed a federal lawsuit in October, alleging, among other things, that the city was violating its religious freedom. This tack makes tiny Praise Christian part of a growing legal battle between church and state.

More than three dozen mega-churches, colleges and synagogues in the state are fighting government regulations and zoning laws that they feel violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

The act is designed to give churches a tool for clearing away onerous government restrictions.

Rumor Mill: Gibson May Make a Movie About the Maccabees

Since neither Maccabees books are in Protestant bibles, I'd be interested to see how Gibson, if he makes the movie, would market it to Evangelicals. And I wish Abe Foxman would just shut his liberal anti-Christian pie hole. (news link via Relapsed Catholic)

"The way he treats history, with a cherry picker of that which fits his ideology or view, is not the way I would like the world to learn about the heroism of the Maccabees or Bar Kochba. So, thanks but no thanks."

Yeah Abe. Mel Gibson is a real historical revisionist for failing to express your apparent belief that there were absolutely no Jews involved in Christ's crucifixion. Oh look, the Easter Bunny!

Mel Who?

Coming to a high school gym near you "Mormonism: The Movie." (news link via Relapsed Catholic)

About 400 people gathered in the Torrance High School auditorium Tuesday night to see the new film based on the Book of Mormon and to hear its director, Gary Rogers, discuss the movie's creation and how he is showing it in one-night or weeklong stints around the country.

That, of course, is a far cry from the hoopla and huge box office grosses for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." But Mormon audience members say Rogers' movie, "The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey," has special significance to them, even if ticket sales are a tiny fraction of those of "The Passion."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not endorse the movie — as a voice-over says before it starts. However, members of the Los Angeles Temple who went to the Torrance screening said it would be an educational experience for anyone unfamiliar with the Mormon Church.

"It's a good introduction to the Book of Mormon," said Carolyn Allen, who works for the Church's Southern California Public Affairs Council.

"I think it makes people think about their own beliefs," said her husband, Jack.

Rogers, who is Mormon, said his dream to create the film started when, as a boy, he saw Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments."

"So many people have produced stories from the Bible — wonderful stories," said Rogers, who grew up in Salt Lake City. "The Book of Mormon is a similar book of Scripture … and nobody had attempted to make a movie."

Public Schools and Sexual Abuse

School boards are elected by popular vote and pulbic school employees are allowed to be married, right?

Millions of children might be victims of sexual misconduct by teachers or other public school employees, according to a draft report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education.

Despite the lack of sufficient data, the scope of the problem appears to far exceed the priest-abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, according to the report's author, Charol Shakeshaft, professor of educational administration at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

The report, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, concludes the issue "is woefully understudied," reports Education Week.

Nearly 10 percent of students have been targeted with unwanted sexual attention by school employees, the best available data indicates, according to Shakeshaft.

Sigh...


You are Charlie Brown!


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Number Three on the All Time List


It may only be a footnote in reference books and the Vatican has not planned any celebration or festivity, but Pope John Paul II will reach another milestone in his papacy Sunday.

John Paul, who marked the 25th anniversary of his election as pope on Oct. 16, will surpass Pope Leo XIII to become the third-longest-serving pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

"It's a beautiful thing, because it's a gift of our Lord," said Cardinal Paul Poupard, a Frenchman who has worked alongside the 83-year-old pope at the Vatican for several decades.

But even in an institution where life at the top often begins when prelates reach their 60s, some are asking whether term limits should be imposed for future popes.

One of the Vatican's most powerful officials, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, gave an indication of the thinking in an interview last month with an Italian religious affairs magazine.

Asked whether future popes may be elected to a fixed term, he said:

"The pope is selected for life because he is a father and his paternity comes before his role. Perhaps in the future, with life being prolonged, one also would consider new norms, but it doesn't seem to me to be a current issue."

At Least They Got This Right

Fresh off of its supremely stupid decision in the Catholic Charities case, the California Supremes order a halt to Emperor Newsom's unlawful decree to have gay "marriages" recognized by the City of San Francisco. The 3800 unholy unions that have thus far been sanctified are now in limbo.

I Don't Know What to Make of This

It isn't unusual that a Christian-based organization would vehemently protest the perpetuation of a long established p*rn/strip club. What is unusual is that such an organization is only now protesting the club after moving next door to it a few years ago.

Is Gonzaga Catholic?

The Jesuit college's law school student government won't recognize a local chapter of the Christian Legal Society because it believes CLS' requirement that club officers be Christian is improperly discriminatory. Religious liberty means nothing to these yayhoos.

"Gonzaga owes its very existence to the constitutionally guaranteed right to organize around its religious identity, but it is allowing the SBA to deny these same fundamental rights to its students," said Greg Lukianoff, FIRE's director of legal and public advocacy.

Christian Legal Society leaders said the university's vice president for student affairs, Sue Weitz, assured the group in an e-mail message it had "university recognition." But the group argues this is not the same as SBA recognition, which would have conferred a set of important benefits, including university funding.

Even the one benefit conferred by "university recognition" was lost in February, according to CLS leaders, when the group's SBA account was closed.

If Asked, He Would Consider being the Goose to Kerry's Maverick

Rather than denying he would accept an invitation to be John F'n Kerry's running mate, Sen. John McCain merely doubts any possibility that he would even be asked.

"John Kerry is a close friend of mine. We have been friends for years," McCain said Wednesday when pressed to squelch speculation about a Kerry-McCain ticket. "Obviously I would entertain it."

Within hours, the Arizona senator's chief of staff, Mark Salter, closed the door on that idea. "Senator McCain will not be a candidate for vice president in 2004," Salter told The Associated Press, saying he spoke for the senator.

McCain had emphasized how unlikely the whole idea was.

"It's impossible to imagine the Democratic Party seeking a pro-life, free-trading, non-protectionist, deficit hawk," the senator told ABC's "Good Morning America" during an interview about illegal steroid use. "They'd have to be taking some steroids, I think, in order to let that happen."

Note: Or Botox.

Misplaced Passion

Given the lack of calls for pogroms against Jews by Christians, and the growing popularity of the film, why exactly did organizations like the ADL make such a fuss over Mel Gibson's TPOTC?

Sadly, the answer is as simple as it is straightforward: What is good for the ADL is not necessarily good for the Jewish people.

Because while The Passion was getting all that free publicity, so too was the ADL, sharing the limelight with Mel Gibson and co-starring along with him at your local neighborhood news outlet.

ADL leaders were giving interviews, being quoted by national news organizations, and raising the profile of their organization. And that, apparently, is far more important than the larger interests of the Jewish community.

But the story does not end there. It actually gets worse.

FIGHTING anti-Semitism, after all, is good business. According to its 2001 annual report, the ADL's total operating expenses were $51,535,000. And that is just for one year alone.

Then there is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which is currently running a "Centennial Campaign" that seeks to raise $100 million by 2006. According to the campaign's promotional literature: "Since 1989, AJC's net assets have grown steadily to more than $65 million."

And there are other American Jewish groups as well, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish Congress, all of whom claim to be in the forefront of the battle against anti-Semitism, and all of whom are vying for their part of the shrinking pie of Jewish philanthropy.

Pouncing on an issue such as a Mel Gibson flick, getting your name in the paper nearly every day, is one sure-fire way to attract more donors and outdo competing organizations. It may not actually help the Jewish people, but it sure does help the bottom line.

Why Not?

PS Bradley posts a circulating e-mail on the logical next step of recognizing gay "marriages" in cities like San Francisco. Marrying myself. Hmmmm...

America: Holocaust Central

I have no way to directly prove it, but this has got to be the reason why pro-aborts have been hell-bent on keeping Bill Pryor off of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. (newslink via The Mighty Barrister)

An appeals court ruled earlier this year an expectant mother can be aborted by force if the physician argues it is necessary to "protect the health of the mother."

But pro-life attorney Chris Sapp is prepared to challenge the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Jan. 23 in Roe II v. Aware Women Center for Choice, Inc., says the Virginia-based Population Research Institute. PRI is "dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of 'family planning,' and to ending counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of 'overpopulation.'"

Sapp is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiori acknowledging a woman's right to say "no" to an abortion at any point in time.

The Hypostatic Union Between Jesus and Swine

PETA aims to offend and distort Scripture once again with their new ad campaign.

The Left Drew First Blood

PJB on the real instigators of the culture war in America.

Who is in your face here? Who started this? Who is on the offensive? Who is pushing the envelope? The answer is obvious. A radical Left aided by a cultural elite that detests Christianity and finds Christian moral tenets reactionary and repressive is hell-bent on pushing its amoral values and imposing its ideology on our nation.

The unwisdom of what the Hollywood and the Left are about should be transparent to all. But if this assault on the sensibilities of the majority continues, the candidate of Hollywood and the Left, John Kerry, will pay a price in November.

John F'n Kerry Really Loves the F-Word

Go to his official campaign website, type "f--k" and "s--t" in the search engine, and see all the articles where he regails America with those lovely words.

I Just Knew It!

Right Wing News reports that almost all of the family members of 9/11 victims who publicly criticized President Bush in the media for making an unspoken reference to 9/11 in a television campaign ad have political axes to grind.

Not Exculpating Jews From Christ's Crucifixion and Death is Anti-Semitic...

...but it's still A-OK to directly slam Catholics in the name of "art".

A federal judge in Kansas ruled a university's prominent display of a sculpture that mocks the Catholic faith did not violate the Constitution.

Washburn University's sculpture, entitled "Holier than Thou," depicts a Roman Catholic bishop with a grotesque facial expression wearing a miter that resembles a phallus. The Topeka school's Campus Beautification Committee selected the display to help fulfill its goal of having "one of the most beautiful campuses in Kansas."

Roe Almost Overturned in Casey Decision

According to the unsealed records of the late Justice Harry Blackmun, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is Catholic by the way, literally changed his mind at the last minute.

The case was argued in April and Rehnquist was at work on his majority ruling, when Kennedy sent a note to Blackmun, NPR reported.

"I need to see you as soon as you have a few moments," the note read. "I want to tell you about a new development in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It should come as welcome news."

Blackmun picked up a pink memo pad and scribbled, "Roe Sound," The New York Times reported Thursday.

It's Criminal Fraud, Stupid!

Candidate for a PA Attorney General says he would arrest anyone associated with same-sex weddings. ACLU feigns concern over the "meanspiritedness" of his position.

"Should you, as clerk of the Orphan's Court, permit to be issued a marriage license to a gay or lesbian couple, you and your office would potentially face criminal liability," Castor wrote.

He also stated homosexual couples "holding themselves out to be married ... are possibly committing frauds actionable by criminal prosecution," the paper reported.

Castor noted those issuing or seeking same-sex marriage certificates could face a misdemeanor charge of obstructing administration of law or other governmental function.

The director of legal affairs for the American Civil Liberties Union says he's disturbed the issue of same-sex marriages is moving into the criminal arena.

"The real question is why he needs to throw out a threat of criminal prosecution," Larry Frankel told the Inquirer. "Let's have a civil debate about whether we should have gay marriages, rather than involving the heavy hand of the criminal-justice system."

Larry Frankel, of course, is probably just as concerned with the heavy handed legal tactics that are used against public school students who desire to share and express their religious beliefs, Ten Commandments displays and Judge Roy Moore. (Crickets chirping).

The Fresnan Wins

Although, technically, I suppose California Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Bill Jones is a Coalingan. PS Bradley must be proud.

(BTW, is it me or does Jones physically look like Al Gore?)

Compare and Contrast


I haven't had the patience to do this yet, but if anyone is up to it, read Catholic Charities of Sacramento v. Superior Court and Silo v. Catholic Health West (registration required), and try to reconcile how the California Supreme Court can say that Catholic Health West is an exempt religious institution but Catholic Charities isn't.

Many Blacks Not on the "Gay Marriage" Bus

Including, it seems, Mr. Shakedown himself, Jesse Jackson.

"We find the gay community's attempt to tie their pursuit of special rights based on their behavior to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s abhorrent," Bishop Andrew Merritt of Straight Gate Ministries and several other Detroit pastors said recently in a statement supporting traditional marriage. "Being black is not a lifestyle choice."

Ahnold Not Against Gurly-Mon "Marriages"

I say we recall him and replace him with Mel.

Throughout his public life, Schwarzenegger's views on gays and lesbians usually have been more libertarian than conservative. He once told an interviewer, "When it comes to sex, I don't care what your (thing) is" and compared discrimination against gays to discrimination against bodybuilders.

Primary Day

If you're a California registered voter, don't forget to go out and vote today. As a Republican, I'll be voting for Howard Kaloogian to run against the evil U.S. Senator from Marin County Barbara Boxer. Except for Prop. 58, vote "no" on everything.

Pot Calling Kettle Black

Chappaquiddick Boy expresses his belief that Bush may have acted unconstitutionally in his recess appointment of Bill Pryor. This coming from a guy who has conspired to unconstitutionally require 60 votes to confirm a judicial appointment.

At issue is whether the 10-day period when Congress was away constituted a “recess” in which such appointments are provided for in the Constitution.

Some constitutional scholars believe that the Founding Fathers may have been referring to the far lengthier recess periods that occur between sessions and Congresses. Recesses lasting many months were common in the early days of the Republic, before the advent of mid-session breaks.

Cali Supremes Slam Catholic Charities

The state high court rules that religious affiliated non-profit groups must include contraception with employee health benefits.

The 6-1 decision by the California Supreme Court, the highest such ruling to date nationwide, could reach far beyond the 183 full-time charity employees. It also could affect thousands of workers at Catholic hospitals and other church-backed institutes throughout the state.

The high court said Catholic Charities is no different than other businesses in California, which is one of 20 states that require company-provided health plans to include contraception coverage. In California, "religious employers" such as churches are exempt from the requirement.

As I see it, there are good and bad things to this decision. The good part is that in order to fall under the religious exemption, it might force Church affiliated organizations to be more observant of Catholic teachings. (It's my understanding, for instance, that there are many Catholic Charities in the state that make contraception available to the general public and are resistent to criticizing sexually immoral behavior). The bad part, of course, is that religious affiliated charities must not only compromise their stated beliefs in order to do business in the state, the effect pf the Court's decision will probably deter new charitable organizations from even forming.

Christ Crucified: A Stumbling Block for Jews and an Absurdity to Gentiles

Such appears to be the common reasons for most of the negative media reviews on The Passion.

How one sees the movie the Passion, depends on whether one has the light of faith or not. Someone of one mind and heart would see something as white, and someone of another mind and heart would see the same thing as black. Take the Catholic Church as example. Many people see it as the most despicable thing on earth. For the heart in the state of God's favor, on the other hand, the Catholic Church is the most beautiful thing on earth.

Pope Can't Say Christianity is a Superior Religion

So says an Italian Muslim activist who has filed a civil lawsuit against the Holy Father.

In his latest legal bid, Smith said comments by Pope John Paul II and other church officials over the years have violated the Italian constitution, which proclaims all religions are equal under the law. Italy is officially secular, but largely Roman Catholic.

In the lawsuit, Smith cited a passage of John Paul's 1994 book Crossing the Threshold of Hope in which the pope writes that the "richness of God's self-revelation" in the Bible's Old and New Testament's has been "set aside" in Islam.

The suit also cites comments by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's orthodoxy watchdog, who in a 2000 document said the faithful of other religions were in a "gravely deficient situation" concerning their salvation, compared to Catholics.

And he cited comments by the retired archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, who in 2000 urged Italy to favour Catholic immigrants over Muslims to "save the nation's identity" against "Islam's ideological attack."

"All of this constitutes offence, injury and insult for all those who peacefully practice the Islamic religion, in addition to defamation and incitation to racial and religious hatred," according to a copy of the lawsuit Smith sent to news organisations.

Hey, if our courts can seriously consider some crank's objection to including the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the odds that the Italian courts will entertain this goofball's lawsuit have to be pretty good.

Almost Like Trying to Find a Needle in a Haystack

If you thought it was difficult to accurately quantify how many Catholic priests had committed acts of child sexual abuse, it's probably near impossible to find out how many Protestant clergy have committed such crimes.

Protestant numbers are tougher to get because cases are scattered among hundreds of denominations. Moreover, many Protestant cases aren't reported to headquarters and many local congregations are self-governing, accountable to no outside supervisors.

Besides that, abuse cases get media notice only if lawsuits are filed and James F. Cobble Jr., whose Christian Ministry Resources advises churches on legal and tax issues, says many Protestant cases never reach court.

Among the reasons: Catholic dioceses with group insurance coverage and deep pockets make inviting targets, while the typical Protestant congregation has 150 members or less, limited money and no insurance coverage for misconduct. Also, Protestants predominate in rural and small towns, where victims and lawyers prefer to settle quietly out of court.

All this "lowers the known number of Protestants dramatically" and obscures the extent of the problem, Cobble says.

John F'n Kerry Possesses the Logic of a Tree Stump

In his most explicit remarks on the subject yet, Kerry told the Globe that he would support a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would prohibit gay marrriage so long as, while outlawing gay marriage, it also ensured that same-sex couples have access to all legal rights that married couples receive.

Because I'm Cheap and I Hate Crowds

Such are the reasons why I won't be seeing The Passion for at least another week and during the day when matinee prices are in effect. As a matter of curiosity, however, I have been looking at what some of our more conservative Evangelical/Fundamentalist brethren have been saying about the film. Although most seem to have liked it, many of the comments are peppered with maddeningly ignorant and untrue remarks. Loads of it can be found in this screed that provides five "reasons" for Evangelicals and Fundamentlaists to avoid seeing The Passion (e.g., Ash Wednesday is a Catholic holy day, Mel Gibson is a devout Roman Catholic who relied on Catholic scholars for the movie, the film was endorsed by JPII, etc.). Very sad stuff, but what's even sadder is that U.S. bishops are seemingly indifferent to the opportunity that this film presents in terms of mass religious instruction and evangelization. Then again, with people like Bishop McGrath and Cardinal Mahony, maybe this isn't such a bad thing.

Tolerance Does Not Apply to Christianity

Despite allowing displays by the Chess Club, Hispanic Club, and Sexual Deviancy Club, a high school in Portland denies the display of a Bible by the Bible Club.

On a related note, I heard liberal pundit Lawrence O'Donnell comment on MSNBC yesterday that he has never seen any evidence of anti-Christian bias in our culture or the media, and that he has no idea why groups like the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights continuously make such claims.

Talk about someone with his head up his a**.

Recall Fever, Baby

This time, Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

Too Violent

That's what movie critics from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times are basically saying about The Passion of the Christ. I wonder if they'd be saying this if the movie had been directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, who of course gave us the Oscar(tm) winning and critically acclaimed Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan (both of which have been shown on commercial television without editing).

State Money and Religious Studies

The SCOTUS rules that states can withhold scholarships from students who choose to study theology.

"Training someone to lead a congregation is an essentially religious endeavor," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the majority. "Indeed, majoring in devotional theology is akin to a religious calling as well as an academic pursuit."

Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

AP reports the Bush administration had argued the state was wrong to yank the scholarship from former student Joshua Davey. Davey initially won a state Promise Scholarship, but the award was rescinded when the state found out he would be studying theology.

Update: The majority and dissenting opinions can be read here.

Sounds About Right

YOU ARE RULE 8(a)!

You are Rule 8, the most laid back of all the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. While your forefather in the Federal Rules may have been a stickler for details and particularity, you have clearly rebelled by being pleasant and easy-going. Rule 8 only requires that a plaintiff provide a short and plain statement of a claim on which a court can grant relief. While there is much to be lauded in your approach, your good nature sometimes gets you in trouble, and you often have to rely on your good friend, Rule 56, to bail you out.


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Spreading Like a Hostile Viral Disease

A "gay" couple in Florida is set to challenge that state's non-recognition of same-sex "marriages" and civil unions.

Religious Groups Fear Potential Loss of Tax Exempt Status

A few years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the IRS could constitutionally strip Bob Jones University of its tax exempt status because of the fundamentalist Christian school's practice of racial discrimination. Some religious groups think the same thing might eventually happen to them if government non-recognition of same sex "marriages" is constitutionally struck down.

"The issue of legalizing same-sex marriages in Massachusetts and California raises the question: Does this mean there will be cases brought against the Catholic Church for discrimination? I think it is the next step," said Flynn, who heads Your Catholic Voice, an activist group. "I don't think people will stop until the whole sacred institution of marriage crumbles."

Any threat to religious marriage between a man and a woman remains hypothetical today. But even homosexuals have acknowledged that the developments in Massachusetts and San Francisco arose quicker than they anticipated.

(...)

While supporters of traditional marriage fear erosion at the religious level, Eugene Volokh, a University of California at Los Angeles law professor, said those fears might be exaggerated.

He said churches could raise a "significant constitutional defense" to keeping their tax-exempt status. He noted, for instance, the Catholic Church has faced criticism for years because it doesn't ordain women as priests.

"Churches, quite clearly, have the right to marry or not marry whoever they please," Volokh said. "Maybe somebody could sue them for discrimination in marriage, but the churches will certainly win."

Why is This Man a Bishop?

Bishop McGrath of San Jose, CA on The Passion movie (link via Amy Welborn):

While the primary source material of the film is attributed to the four gospels, these sacred books are not historical accounts of the historical events that they narrate. They are theological reflections upon the events that form the core of Christian faith and belief.

They are not historical accounts of the historical events? Huh? Isn't that kind of like saying water isn't wet?

As we enter the season of Lent next Wednesday, Catholics and Christians are called to repentance. I call upon Catholics and all Christians in this Valley to renew the ties that bind us to our Jewish brothers and sisters, the first of God's Chosen People.

Catholics and Christians? Try inserting the word "other" after "and" Bishop. We are Christian too, you know.

If you bother to read the rest of the commentary, you'll discover it's just one big sappy preemptory apology on behalf of any Catholic (or other Christian) who is actually stupid enough to misuse the movie as a vehicle for attacking Jews. Makes you almost wonder if Bishop McGrath is sorry he's Catholic.

Another Friedman Hit Piece

I'm starting to get the idea that Roger Friedman just doesn't like Mel very much. As you read the article, bear in mind that Friedman previously told an untruth about where Gibson wanted The Passion to be shown.

Will Mel's Passion be "Too Catholic" for Protestants?

A few weejs ago, Terry Mattingly at GetReligion quipped:

I have been fascinated by the lack of critical voices among conservative Protestants. At some point, the overwhelming Catholic symbolism is going to tick off a really conservative Reformed Protestant and the fur will fly somewhere online. I would keep an eye on the letters pages of World magazine and its blog.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'll be watching.

About Time

Ahnold finally tells San Fran. gurly mon Newsom to "Stop Eeet."

Good Move

Bush makes a recess appointment of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The only bad news about the appointment is that only lasts for two years. Such is the importance of maintaining a Republican majority in Congress.

Hope for a Legitimate Alternative to the Hopelessly Liberal SF Chronicle

Philip Anschutz, whom the Chronicle somewhat pejoratively describes as a conservative Christian, purchases the historic, but fading, San Francisco Examiner newspaper.

"Today we are announcing a seismic shift in Bay Area journalism," Bob Starzel, 63, a longtime Anschutz lieutenant who will be chairman of the newspapers, said Thursday at a news conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. "Philip Anschutz is committed to strengthening and building the Examiner newspaper."

The reclusive Anschutz amassed fortunes in oil, real estate, railroads and telecommunications in Colorado before buying sports teams and movie theaters across the nation. He had a net worth of $4.9 billion in 2003, according to Forbes.com.

Anschutz is best known in California for developing the Staples Center sports arena in downtown Los Angeles. He owns the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, a 30 percent stake in the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and half of Major League Soccer, including the San Jose Earthquakes.

He also is the majority owner of the United Artists and Regal movie theater chains, which he acquired after buying the debt of those companies and other chains in 2001.

Abe Foxman and the ADL are Asses

For publicly trying to drive a wedge between Mel Gibson and his misguided father, and for trying to impute the unfortunate beliefs of the latter upon the former without any sustaining proof. (Foxman apparantly doesn't think that it is possible for someone to believe something that just isn't true; like the Gospels being anti-Semitic).

It's been said several times by many people and in different quarters, but the ADL's problem truly isn't with Mel Gibson or his movie; it's with the New Testament.

Press Release From the SF Archdiocese

Unsurprisingly, this appears to have evaded most of the local media.
One quibble I have with this release is its failure to attack the presumtption that personhood may be defined upon sexual preference. It also fails to address the Church's teaching that homosexual conduct is objectively disordered. Ah well.

Statements and releases

February 12, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Maurice Healy 415-614-5632

STATEMENT BY SAN FRANCISCO ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM J. LEVADA

The action taken by Mayor Gavin Newsom regarding same-sex marriages in San Francisco is counter to long-established California law, which was reaffirmed overwhelmingly by California voters just four years ago. In addition, his action is counter to the will of the majority of citizens at the state and national levels as evidenced by the fact that 38 states and the federal government have approved laws or amendments barring the recognition of same-sex marriages.

In the current national discussion of same-sex marriage, some voices define marriage only in terms of "personal choice," as if marriage were merely a design of two persons – with nothing to do with family or society. Marriage is a relationship defined by nature, a reality which takes its origin in creation itself. Society does not create marriages, even though it sets parameters protecting it – such as the ban on polygamy and an age requirement to protect a mature decision to enter marriage.

Society grants benefits to marriage for the purpose of fostering families, which in turn nurtures the future. Benefits are not primarily given to individuals who are married, but rather they are provided to establish a nurturing environment for children. Any discussion about same-sex marriage that misses this point becomes mired in confusion, for it is impossible to justify special benefits to married couples if these benefits are seen first as benefits to the spouses themselves. Heterosexual marriage, procreation, and the nurturing of children form the bedrock of the family, and the family unit lies at the heart of every society. To extend the meaning of marriage beyond a union of a man and a woman, their procreative capacity, and their establishment of family represents a misguided understanding of marriage itself.

It is not discriminatory to limit "marriage" to heterosexual couples, as same-sex couples cannot bring into existence what marriage intends by its very definition. Other remedies can be found to protect the valid rights of persons in non-marital unions, for example civil rights given to individuals such as bereavement leave and inheritance rights, as well as benefits and protection for any children involved. Changing the definition of marriage to achieve benefit goals is ill-advised and harmful to society.

Some may call this age-old stance "discrimination against gay and lesbian persons. Such an interpretation is false, and offensive to people whose goodwill is clear. The Catholic Church has often spoken of the respect, compassion and sensitivity demanded in our interactions with and attitudes toward homosexual people. Withholding support for same-sex marriage should never be equated with hostility toward homosexual people.

While the Catholic Church affirms that God created marriage as a union of a man and a woman, giving them a co-responsibility to establish a family by bringing children into the world, this tenet is not solely a Catholic one. Rather, it is the result of natural reason mirrored in every culture throughout humankind’s history.

We need God’s wisdom as part of the current conversation on this subject. We need local, state and national debate conducted with respect, knowledge and understanding. Rushing to grant same-sex partners the right to "marriage" for the sake of status or benefits could not help but undermine human society’s foundational institutions of marriage and family.

Here in San Francisco, the recent election of Mayor Newsom brought with it an expectation that he would invite the participation of the entire community in seeking solutions to issues such as the homeless crisis, affordable housing, budget difficulties and other important matters.

For many of us, Mayor Newsom’s abrupt action on the issue of same-sex marriage – about which our society is so divided -- raises concern and causes disappointment. We hope the mayor’s action on behalf of one segment of the community does not signal an abandonment of his commitment to respect the views of all groups in the community – and to use his leadership to draw our city together to address the pressing issues identified in the mayoral campaign .

Predestined in Love to be Children of God

From today's General Audience:

Having glanced at the whole of the hymn that opens the Letter to the Ephesians, we now listen to St. John Chrysostom, extraordinary teacher and orator, fine interpreter of sacred Scripture, who lived in the fourth century and became bishop of Constantinople in the midst of difficulties of every nature, and was even subjected to the experience of being exiled twice.

In his first homily on the Letter to the Ephesians, commenting on this canticle, he reflected with gratitude on the "blessing" with which we have been blessed "in Christ": "What are you lacking, in fact? You have become immortal, free, a son, righteous, a brother, co-heir, with him you reign, with him you are glorified. Everything has been given to you and -- as it is written -- 'will he not also give us everything else along with him?' (Romans 8:32). Your first fruits (see 1 Corinthians 15:20,23) are adored by the Angels, the Cherubim, the Seraphim: what are you lacking, now?" (PG 62, 11).

God has done all this for us, Chrysostom continues, "according to the favor of his will." What does this mean? It means that God passionately desires and ardently yearns for our salvation. And why does he love us so? For what reason does he desire so much good for us? Solely because of his goodness: 'grace,' in fact, is proper to goodness" (ibid., 13).

Heh Heh...

I double dare anyone living in the Bay Area to stick one of these on their car and drive slowly through the Castro District in the City.

Worth a Thousand Words

SF Judge Issues Non-Binding Cease and Desist

Despite the judge's hangup over the placement of a semicolon (it happens) pro-family forces have temporarily won the battle to stop same-sex marriages in San Fran. Mayor "The Law Is Whatever I Say It Is" Newsom expresses an intent not to comply. And, oh yeah, Ahnold finally said something.

Two Injunctions Sought in San Fran. Same Sex Marriage Battle

The first case, which I think involves obtaining a writ of mandate, won't be decided until Friday, while the second case is going on as I post this.

Although it isn't necessarily an issue in either of these cases, what is going to have to be decided at one point is whether sexual preference is a basis upon which civil rights protections must be applied. I logically don't see how it can, but then again, who would have ever thought consensual sodomy would be deemed a constitutional right.

Wanted: Gavin Newsom

The American Family Association wants Ahnold to arrest the San Fran. Mayor for violating California's Defense of Marriage Act. So do I.

The AFA's law center wrote Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Bill Lockyer Friday insisting the mayor not only violated civil law, but criminal law as well.

Schwarzenegger and other state officials have remained silent on the issue.

The letter cites California's penal code Section 115, which "prohibits the knowing procurement of any false or forged instrument to be filed or recorded in any public office."

The penalty for the felony, the letter notes, is up to three years in prison. The AFA says this means three years for each false certificate issued.

Hell in a Handbasket

Neither rain, sleet, nor snow shall deter people engaging in objectively disordered sexual conduct from mocking and degrading the institution of marriage.

Maybe It She Just "Malfunctioned"

I'm thinking this "lady" (and I use the term loosely) uses tongue when she kisses her mother.

A key Assembly committee is investigating complaints by at least five legislative staffers to Assembly member Rebecca Cohn, including two sparked by a photo shoot for San Jose Magazine in which Cohn allegedly asked aides to handle her bras and underwear.

Aides to Cohn, D-Campbell, have told investigators that she created an uncomfortable, sexually charged working environment by soliciting comments about her provocative attire and discussing her personal life in explicit terms, according to two Assembly Rules Committee interview summaries obtained by the Mercury News.

Effort to Reexamine "Roe" Moves Forward

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in support of a motion to reopen Roe v. Wade.

"There are several issues before the court," Parker said, "whether Roe versus Wade should be overturned; whether to grant the motion based on the evidence that was submitted with the motion; or send the case back to a trial court for a trial; and whether a single judge or a three-judge panel should have heard the case at the trial court level."

Last June, Parker contended Judge Godbey misunderstood the motion, arguing the case is about changes in the relevant factual conditions, not a submission of new evidence.

One of the most relevant changes in law, he says, is the 1999 "Baby Moses" statute which allows a mother to hand over her child to the care of the state, meaning she no longer is forced to dispose of "unwanted" children by ending a human life.

Texas is among 40 states with such legislation, which didn't exist in 1973, Parker notes.

Playing Defense and Clarifying

Archbishop Levada on the Catholic understanding of The Passion.

Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the Catholic faith. However, even in America, we have seen Catholics embrace anti-Semitic positions, seeking to justify them as compatible with or resulting from Christian belief. The infamous "radio priest" Father Coughlin of the 1930s had a large and willing audience for his anti-Semitic rants, until he was silenced by the Archbishop of Detroit.

The Anti-Defamation League has said the film "has the potential to promote anti-Semitism through its painful portrayal of Jews as being responsible for the death of Jesus." On the other hand, Cardinal Castrillon of the Vatican Congregation for Clergy and Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, call the film a deeply spiritual experience.

This contrast reminds me of a comment by columnist and radio host Dennis Prager -- who is Jewish -- after seeing an early cut of the film: "When watching 'The Passion,' Jews and Christians are watching two entirely different films. For two hours, Christians watch their Savior tortured and killed. For the same two hours, Jews watch Jews arrange the killing and torture of the Christians' Savior."